Monday, December 28, 2009

How some stores treat Authors, and a mini move review.

Very good. Great? No, but it's very entertaining. In most ways, it's how I imagined it was going to be- a reinterpretation of the master detective as a bit of a swashbuckler, but with a funny, eccentric, and troubled soul.

There were a couple of instances of flash backs and flash forwards that were very nicely done, and everything is wrapped up in the end with a "Scooby-Doo" style explanation.

Three stars.

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So I visited a Barnes & Nobles Bookstore yesterday before we saw the movie, and I'm happy to say that they were sold out of "Bent Objects". The fella said it had done well, because they had quite a few copies on hand. He was nice enough to invite me back to sign some copies when they get a new shipment. Believe it or not, I've found this to be an unusual attitude. "Why would that be?" you might ask. "Wouldn't an author signature be a motivating factor for the purchase of a book?" I wonder the same thing.

I've actually heard from several other authors who have had the same experience as I've had, and that's one of many booksellers acting like they are doing the author a favor by letting them sign their books. Why is this? The managers actually have to think a second or two before they give me a positive answer, and then not one thank you given. I'm at a loss on this. Wouldn't their customers feel like they're buying something a bit special if it were signed? Don't they want happy customers? I would understand if they asked to see my I.D., or I'd show them my photo on the book-jacket, but that doesn't seem to be the problem.

One of the last managers I spoke to basically shrugged his shoulders and said "hey, it's up to you". Really? Should I just go into a store and start signing away? Seems a strange thing to do. I'm not looking for people to kiss my ring when I make an offer to sign, but it would be cool if they said "Oh, that'd be great. Thanks."

Can anyone out there enlighten me on this? I'll let the other authors who've run up against this in on the secret too, so they can find out why they're treated like schmucks in some of these stores.